The Perfect Drug
by alilloki
Summary: After a mission w/Gai & Asuma Kakashi doesn't feel like bar-hopping. Wondering off in a foreign village he finds himself in a fight. It's then he meets a young man as mysterious as he is beautiful. Will Kakashi let this boy take him over? YAOI-Explicit!
1. Chapter 1

His feet kick up dirt and foliage as he runs with all his might through the forest. Trees suddenly appear forcing him to push off and scrape against the bark. He's having trouble in his panic dodging them all. There are so many trees to slow him down, but perfect for his predator to catch up. He had never thought of how old his legs are until they shake and shoot needles of pain through him. It feels as if his ankles are about to break into the soles of his feet. He keeps glancing behind him expecting to see death, but can only see the trees. These trees they all looked exactly alike. Where was he? Every breath of fresh air scrapes the fragile tissue of his lungs and rips the weak muscles of his abdomen. He had never felt so old or frightened before. Could a man outrun death? No. It is just a temporary delay. But why did his life have to end like this alone in the woods running from an invisible hunter? He has to rest. He leans against a tall oak and grasps at his chest. This was torture. Why wasn't he killed ten minutes, half hour, or a whole hour ago? He lifts his foot and takes off his shoe. The skin has split and is bleeding. His thin shoes were only comfortable indoors not outside against the elements. Useless. Just like his money is now. He could buy anything, but his own life. He had offered, too, but that soulless black mask just stared at him and motioned for him to go to run. A twig snaps and sends his hair on end. He drops the shoe and keeps running. He didn't want death to claim him. He loved his life. He loved his many wives. He took care of his illegitimate children. Why him? His foot hooks into a decayed log. He flies forwards and slides down a small, steep hill. Dirt is clotted in his fresh wounds as he lifts his face. The hunter is done playing cat and fat, old mouse. He places a foot on the man's back and punches down into him. A death groan echoes and stirs the birds from the trees. He misses his last sunset by minutes.

* * *

"No, Gai,"Kakashi sighs as he strolls along the dirt road with his hands in his pockets. The bag on his back has gotten heavier by the mile and a race to the next village was not an option.

"How can he have so much energy left? That mission took every last ounce of my chakra." Asuma wonders as he watches Gai walks past Kakashi on his hands. Kakashi shrugs.

"Our youth is not yet over though our spring has passed. Another will come again!" Gai cheers. "Are you scared, Kakashi, that you'll lose to me yet again? I can remember your last failure quite well. It's now a tie and I refuse to be tied to you! I will win or lose trying!"

"You lost?" Asuma scoffs.

"It was a jalapeño eating contest. I took one bite and forfeited." Kakashi lays out his defense. Asuma chuckles. Kakashi pauses and puts a hand to his head to view the distance. "Good, we're almost there." The sooner he can ditch Gai the better.

"Aha!" Gai immediately drops his bag and begins stretching in every plausible direction and some that aren't.

Kakashi scratches his forehead protector. "We're sharing one room?" Asuma and him exchanges glances. "I'm going to see if they have anymore rooms."

Asuma watches as Gai bends over. "I'm with you." He walks after him. Asuma finds Kakashi at the front desk resting his head on his hand as he leans on it.

"Oh, really. . ." Kakashi sounds slightly irritated.

"So?" Asuma already knows.

"Looks like we're stuck with Gai ALL night." Kakashi plunges his hands in his pockets and drops his head to the side to motion his reluctant defeat.

Asuma rubs his soul patch as he hums. "We don't have to stay with himi_all_ /inight." Asuma has a sly tone that makes Kakashi's eyebrow lift.

Saki is poured for two and Asuma takes it to the hole. He breathes a happy sigh as the heat hits his stomach. He hadn't been out drinking for a while. "They've got some good saki here. It's homemade." Asuma informs Kakashi, who is sitting with his head in his hand and staring off into space. "What's the matter, Kakashi? You haven't touched your drink."

"I've never been much of a drinker." He quickly retorts, but Asuma doesn't take offence. He just shakes his head with a smile and lights his cigarette.

"Sometimes I wonder if there's something missing in your life, Kakashi. I know it's non of my business, but when was the last time you went out, found a honey to squeeze, and just cut loose? A life can't revolve around missions and assignments alone. Then every time I do spot you out and about your nose is buried in a book or you're standing in front of that stone, lamenting. There has to be more for you."

Kakashi glares at Asuma. "A honey to squeeze, huh? Do you mean like what you have with Kurenai?"

Asuma should've seen that coming. Walking into that makes him chuckle. Kakashi sounded so bitter. Wasn't like Kakashi to be so high strung. Another suggestion comes into mind, but he doesn't dare say it. That suggestion would be addressing a very "private" matter, but by the fourth sip back he spits it out. "Maybe- -you just need to get laid?" He stifles a laugh. What a boyish thing for him to say. It must have sounded so stupid coming from a man his age.

Kakashi drops his head a notch with a heavy sigh. "Getting laid. . ." It is such a normal action for any animal and any fertile young man, but he had always let his mind be too occupied by trivial things in his boring home life to let it take precedence. Sure he has had his share of cute girls and lovely ladies cling to him and blush as he offers them a walk home or a drink. He was a bit of an old fashioned guy, but then it would come down to her wanting a peak, a kiss, or even a full night in and for some reason it was a bit of a turn off. He wasn't going to keep the mask on during "that" but he knew some just wanted to see to satisfy their curiosity. Or worse yet they wanted to see in order to judge. So he'd be cruel by just saying goodbye and walking away. Immersing himself in those books and perfecting his Sharingon eye was a good way to avoid everything all together. Then a horrifying thought hits him: all Gai ever does is train relentlessly. Was he going to become like him? No-no way, he was too smart for that. Still has the action of his "job" made him so dull, because nothing really surprised or excited him anymore?

Kakashi pushes himself up, reaches into his pocket, and drops a coin on the counter. "I think I'll turn in for tonight. I've wanted to get to the next chapter anyways." He says solemnly and walks out. Asuma puffs out the smoke like a tired dragon and says nothing. He hadn't intended on getting under Kakashi's skin. He didn't even think it possible, but not even Kakashi could hide that kind of melancholy.

He walks alone down the unlit streets of this rather large village. So many people with so many lives full of all the little things that make them worth living. Those little things that make lives happy did he have enough things or was it he didn't have one specific thing that was worth them all? Lonely should be his name, but he did have quite the unique name that normally got him insulted. Lonely is the name that still suited him best. His parents were lost at a young age. Both his teammates died young while he lived on. Didn't seem fair. His protégé betrayed the village and himself. His other two students gained better teachers. He is content to have friends within the village, but when a day concludes with him standing alone staring off into space and nothing to make him smile it makes what Asuma said that much more sharp. i_"Sometimes I wonder if there's something missing in your life, Kakashi__"/i_ He makes the bluest of sighs. "Yeah-sometimes I wonder that, too." He says to himself.

When he looks up again he sees he's wandered into a dark road that was more like an ally. He glances around. "How'd I end up here?"

There's a sinister laugh in the shadows. In front of him steps a heavily built, tall man to the left and a tinier man, much tinier man to the right. The little guy is stout and smoking a cigar. "You just walked right into our territory. There's a good price on ninja tools and on particular ninja heads. So who are you?" It seems that the little guy is the brains, or lack there of, behind this. Kakashi can see it now it was all part of a clever genjutsu that led him down the wrong streets to this ally they've made to look like a normal roadway. He was so distracted he followed right along. It was very careless of him and of them.

Kakashi puts a hand to his chin in thought. "My name -you want to know MY name? I don't see why you just didn't ask before instead of luring me here. I guess I could tell you, but I won't." The men's faces sneer up at him and his cocky attitude. He wasn't worried in the least bit. "No, I don't feel like telling you. You could always figure out yourself by doing something completely stupid like attacking me, but that would be a bad idea." Kakashi keeps stretching out his "buts" to mock them.

Then the little man smiles and makes a cut throat gesture. Behind Kakashi is a thick shadow which brings a sledge hammer down that splits his head open and wedges into his back. They laugh for only a second when in a poof there's a log stuck on the end of that hammer. "Bad Idea," The shadow doesn't even have time to turn when he's struck out. He topples to the ground on top of his log and hammer. Kakashi stands casually behind him with one empty hand up and the other still in his pocket. Both men are rendered speechless. Kakashi stares at them lazily. If that's the best they can do then he's not going to even work up a sweat.

"What you waiting for an open invitation? Grab him you moron!" The tiny boss barks and points at Kakashi. The big guy comes at Kakashi with a sword in hand. He runs at him like a bull with the sword for his horns and Kakashi steps aside as a matador. The man stumbles over himself as he runs back around. Kakashi keeps his back to him and again just side steps the attack. This time the man stops after missing and swings his sword at his head. Kakashi ducks, hooks his foot behind the oafs ankle, and pulls his foot out from under him as he stands up. Dirt flies up in a cloud as the body lands flat. The little guy works himself up into a tizzy. "That's it! Get him! Now!" He orders. On top of the surrounding buildings rise the heads of many men with scars and weapons. A few step out from the ends of the ally.

"Crap." Kakashi states as he sees them all. He knows that amongst them are some actual rogue ninjas. Those are the ones that'll cause him trouble. He just has to weed them out. The others are pushovers. They all yell and come at him all at once. He thinks quickly of an effective way to get rid of them. Horse, tiger-fire jutsu. One breath and the ally fills with fire and screaming men. Kakashi stands in the middle of burned bodies too crispy to want to move. "Is that all? That was a lot of guys for nothing." Kakashi is so unimpressed. The little man stomps his feet around and shakes his fists in a tantrum.

Kakashi jumps. Four kunai follow him with each step. On top of a building is more of a challenge. He hops down and reveals himself. The man has a wild mane of uncombed brown hair and a strange twin blade sword on his back. Where had Kakashi seen this man before? "This man is Hatake Kakashi, the Sharingon Warrior or more suiting the Copy-Cat Ninja, because all he does is mimic the ninjustsus of others because he can't create any of his own." Kakashi doesn't let this faze him though his pride is thoroughly ticked by it. The man couldn't be any more wrong about him. "Hatake Kakashi I have been waiting for the opportunity to fight with you."

"You have?"

"Yes, I have! You act as though you don't recognize me."

"Uh." Kakashi rubs the back of his head. "Sorry, I don't."

"Yasuko Reisuke! My father-you killed my father seven years ago! I vowed to your face that I'd take my vengeance on you! You bastard!" Yasuko loses his cool. Kakashi scratches his cheek a tiny bit then holds up one finger. "So you do remember." Yasuko grabs hold of his sword ready to fight.

"I still don't remember you." Kakashi holds his palm down at a four foot level. "Were you shorter then?"

Yasuko's jaw drops to the ground. This was the fierce ninja that his strong father was killed by? The man couldn't even remember a threat on his life! And what was with that haircut? "Enough talk!" Yasuko charges and swings his sword over his shoulder. Kakashi back flips onto the wall and looks down on Yasuko while in a sitting position. He missed and cut into the wall. Then the structure shakes and the spot where the blades are impaled shatters apart. Kakashi leaps over Yasuko's head to the ground before he can send more shock waves through the building and makes it completely collapse. There could be innocent people sleeping inside. The two blades that are set side by side are identical. They are blunt and thin which is not good for slicing, but used like a tuning fork could cause major damage to anything it touches. Blind with rage he swings carelessly at Kakashi who dodges each swing. He has to keep this guy away from any populated structures. He needs a deserted, run down area. Kakashi turns and runs. "Coward! I won't let you off that easily! You don't deserve to live!" Yasuko continues his pursuit. Through the streets he darts avoiding any with people in the way until the buildings start looking more like boarded up shambles. This was far enough. Kakashi holds up a kunai as he turns and sees no one. He waits. Where could Yasuko have gone? Did he lose him? He didn't run that fast. So where. . .from above! Kakashi jumps in barely enough time. Dirt and rocks kick up and catch him. Yasuko impales the sword into the ground and rumbles the Earth. This guy is going to blast him in two. He uses the tip of his kunai to slow his landing. The guy is better than he led on. He pulls up his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingon. Before the dust can even settle Yasuko sweeps in from the side narrowly clipping Kakashi's hair. Kakashi kicks up as he rolls and knocks Yasuko straight back into another ally. Kakashi stands and comes in closer. The guy was fast and dangerous. He was going to have no other recourse. This man is after his life.

He points his hand down and focuses with all his might. The tingle of the chakra sparks up his hand and burns his pores. He holds his arm at the elbow and slowly lifts his hand. "You said I was merely a copy and I could not create any attacks of my own. So let me prove you wrong." Kakashi's voice is strained from the massive amount of chakra being forced through him. Yasuko is getting to his feet when Kakashi charges. At full speed he rams his hand through both blades, shattering them, and into his chest. Yasuko flies back, his broken sword clatters to the ground, and Kakashi is left standing with blood dripping down his face. He holds his hand in front of him. It's shaking violently. Even with the chakra around his hand the vibrations created by the blade nearly splintered his bones. The pain in his arm is immense. He won't be able to do the Chidori for a good while. He lets his hand drop to his side and eyes Yasuko's body lying in the dirt of a dark ally. Should he leave the body? Didn't seem right, but then again it wasn't his fault that Yasuko chose this fate. Vengeance wasn't going to lead anyone to anything, but more pain and their own defeat. He can't feel sorry for him. Yasuko died a warrior's death. It's still too bad he can't remember the man's father. Maybe that was the sad part sitting in the pit of his stomach. Kakashi pulls down the protector over his eye. i'_No use in dwelling on it._' /iHe decides.

Yasuko can feel a painful hole in his chest. It went right into his soul which was slowly leaking out into the atmosphere. He grits his teeth. He's not dead yet. There is still time to murder his father's killer. He forces himself up on his arms. Blood pours from his chest. He can't breathe with broken ribs stabbing into his lungs. His blurred vision catches sight of the silver haired man. His back is to him. He's leaving. The son of a bitch is leaving him for dead. This fills him with the anger he needs to lift him on wobbly legs. His sword is flat on the ground broken in two, but the blades are still sharp and even the partial left can create a dangerous amount of power. All he needs is one shot. He isn't going to give in, because he's going to make his father proud. He clutches the sword for dear life and starts running. Harder he pushes himself. He won't lose!

Kakashi glances back. The sound of feet were closing in. Right in his face is Yasuko not quite dead, but not quite alive. His sword is being jabbed right at him. Not enough time to escape. Then Yasuko falls like a tree to the ground. He lets out a tiny death moan and goes cold. Kakashi squats down and sees he has fallen on his own sword. He didn't just fall over dead, something tripped him. He looks over and sees someone sitting against the wall to his left. They're cast in shadow, but their foot is sticking out right where Yasuko tripped. This stranger saved him. He stands and so does Kakashi. Whoever it is they're male as far as he can tell. Staying in the shadows he walks away, but Kakashi is stung with curiosity. This person was not here before. They appeared like a ghost. As he reaches the end of the ally Kakashi runs up. He wants to see if this is friend or foe, but as he reaches the dirt road lit only by moonlight and no one is there. He whips around in both directions and scratches the back of his head. Where did he go? A smell catches his nostrils. It's not so much pungent as it is alluring. It's coming from beside him. Leaning against the building not more than five feet from him is a young man in a black A-shirt and extremely baggy pants held up around his thin waste with a leather belt. He's got his arms folded over a strapping, lean chest. His black hair shines even in the dull light and falls just barely over his shoulders, resting like feathers. A few bangs stick out over his face, but the top half of his hair is pulled back in a hair tie. In his mouth sits a mid-length, green pipe just like the one the Fourth Hokage would use. Little wisps of smoke glide up between a pair of pale orange eyes. Kakashi can tell just by looking at this cute young man he's no more than seventeen at best. He's so young and delicate in appearance. Young men like him don't hang out in dark allies all alone just to have a smoke.

He speaks his voice as deep and smooth as black silk. "Are you really blind in that eye?" He sounds slightly sarcastic. It's said just so he can quench his own curiosity. They have something in common.

A bottle of saki is left on the counter of the bar. It's a seedier dive than the last one he was in with Asuma. It's a place for rough necks and lawbreakers. This boy didn't fit in and neither did he, but the bartender didn't ask for an ID. He just stares at Kakashi as he says he'll put this on the boy's tab. A regular in a place like this is sad. The boy slides over the little shot glass to Kakashi. Kakashi had offered the boy the drink and the boy is offering him the drink? Kakashi holds up his hand to say no. The boy leaves it there as he begins drinking straight out the bottle. Kakashi watches as he swallows half of it in one gulp. He was a regular alright. He'd never seen anyone drink like that not even Tsunade-sama.

"What does it matter. . ." The boy begins. ". . .you're going to die someday."

Kakashi eyes the shot, taps his fingers on the rough wood covered in scratches, taps his knuckles against it two times, and gives up. He quickly pulls his mask out and splashes it back in one motion. Why was it to him that all saki tasted the same every time? Asuma could point out subtle differences and Juryia could identify every last detail from where the rice came from and how long it has been fermented. He doubts that this boy is an aficionado either. He takes a long, hard drag of his pipe, and holds it. The smoke is then slowly filtered out. Kakashi fiddles with the shot glass and tries to think of something more to say. The bottle grabs his attention as he's about to pour more for him. "Take another before you speak. It'll make it easier for you." He blurts out around the pipe in his mouth. He's amazingly good at speaking with it in. Kakashi can't tell if he wasn't looking right at him. So he does.

Sweet poison for an intelligent brain. "Alcohol kills brain cells," The first thing that comes to mind.

"You care?"He takes out the pipe and inspects the contents.

Kakashi stares down as if disappointed. "No." He holds it out for another shot. Without even looking the boy complies. "This is going to be a long night."

Bottles of saki line the bar in front of the two men whose expressions haven't changed since they entered the bar. Their faces are melancholic carvings of hard lives on handsome men. "Closing time, guys. You don't have to go home you just got to get the hell out of here." The bartender is a comedian. Kakashi didn't expect a place like this to have a closing time until he swivels the seat around he sees how dead the place is. There's a drunken man passed out at one table and another sweeping up the floor. The boy stands and immediately stumbles. Kakashi holds out an arm to stop him from falling forward. Poor kid too wasted to walk straight. Poor kid wanted to be this wasted for whatever fucked up reason that brought him there to begin with. He takes a deep breath and straightens up. Kakashi half expects him to fall back, but then Kakashi stands and realizes the kid isn't alone in his extreme inebriation. The room shifts as if he's on a boat. He stays still, or thinks he's staying still, but he's really swaying just a bit. Kakashi burps and regains some sense. The boy's eyes are glazed and drowsy. Could he even make it home? Did he have a home? Kakashi feels a little responsible. He offered to buy the kid a drink and then didn't bother to slow him down when he was chugging back whole bottles.

"So, umm. . ." Kakashi puts a hand to his head. Did he ever catch the boy's name? ". . .do you need help getting home?" The boy shakes his head no. "At least let me walk you there."

The boy makes a lazy shrug. "If you insist." Kakashi can tell he's trying not to smile. He must think that this strange old man was either playing daddy or coming on to him. It wasn't either.

Down the roads, around many corners, and a few pit stops the boy leads him. The longer he walks the quicker he seems to be sobering up unlike Kakashi who felt just as drunk as before, but the fresh air did help. That bar was full of cigarette smoke and foul language. If his mask wasn't being used as a filter he'd have emphysema by now. The boy's smoke was tolerable. It was down right tempting and made his head feel kind of stuffy and light. The smoke in his pipe has died down to a flickering string. "That's not tobacco." Kakashi concludes.

"Nope." He flat out admits.

A small and sturdy apartment complex only held 6 or 8 rooms. His is in the second floor room 405. He digs in his pocket as Kakashi stands behind him then the boy just opens the door without it. He had left it unlocked. Kakashi could tell this kid was the type that welcomed trouble and took risks with little to no thought. He could also see he was the type not to hesitate or think twice about anything. It's the opposite of Kakashi until he is wrapped in battle. The boy walks into the darkness as expected: without hesitation to any danger that could lurk inside. He leaves the door open and flips on a small kitchen light. Kakashi stands outside the door. To leave and sleep it off or go inside and further investigate this kid? The alcohol was dulling his wits and he'd feel no need to be concerned about some pretty boy, but then again there was Haku and Zabuza. It was foolish to underestimate anyone even the prettiest of faces.

"You're letting bugs in." His low voice grumbles from inside. Kakashi peaks in. The place is so empty. There is nothing to decorate the walls. The only objects not part of the room are high chairs for the kitchen counter that divides the two parts of the room and a flat, traditional bed in the corner under a window. There's one other door that's open to show a full bath. The boy is leaning with both arms braced against the counter on the inner part of the kitchen. Kakashi steps inside and shuts the door behind him. It's so quiet. He can't help, but fear something might happen-something life changing. The boy turns to the cabinet hanging over the stove and rummages through it. Kakashi takes a seat on the other side at one of the chairs. It's just like the bar. The boy pulls down a glass bottle of thin crimson liquid and sets it down. Kakashi can make out the foreign letters as saying something about "fields of ripened beauty" and "grapes", but it didn't matter he knew what it was. He hadn't seen it around much anywhere but cities. "I normally drink wine. I like the taste better. But it all has the same effect." The boy explains. Kakashi nods. It was true. Personally he found wine to be bitter, but it left a sweet after taste. He pours some in a glass and sets it in front of Kakashi. "Ever had?"

Kakashi holds the glass and gazes into it. When he looks back up the boy has the mouth of the bottle to his and is taking a swig. He's getting frustrated with how little the boy seems to care about himself. "Don't you have a limit?" He's sounding so old.

The bottle makes a popping noise as he pulls his moist lips from it. "No, I don't." He's sounding arrogantly young. "We only limit ourselves, because we fear. Those without fear do not limit they push until the barrier breaks."

Kakashi was unaware that this boy was a great philosopher. How could someone so young come up with such definitions? Of course at his age he was no different. He was worse in fact. The only thing was no one knew about it. He had always been good at hiding things. This situation would be no different. "A bottle of sin for a couple of sinners." He pulls down his mask and casually sips. The boy joins him. The best part of this scene had been the fact the boy hadn't once asked or tried to see what was under his mask. He really hadn't cared what Kakashi may have been trying to hide. He didn't even peek over as Kakashi sipped his wine. Kakashi finds himself staring. The boy was so quietly strange it reminded him so much of someone he didn't wish to know anymore. The stove light glows around his body. It's so bold and soft in the light. Not just any boy gains a physique like that from puberty. This kid did something laborious for a living. Could he be a shinobe of some kind like he had previously suspected?

The bottle smacks the counter harder than expected. Kakashi is broken from his stare to the boy sliding his hand off the bottle and walking around to his side. He leans back against the counter between Kakashi and the next chair. He flips open a tin and taps the burnt remnants out of the pipe into it. He then shifts the contents with his finger before picking a few pinches of the shredded, dried, green plant that's sticky with black tar and stuffing it gently inside. For some reason the saying "ignorance is bliss" comes to Kakashi's mind. At the moment the kid is either extremely ignorant or extremely intelligent. So far there wasn't enough information to distinguish much, but he was doubting the boy's ignorance. He holds out the pipe to him and blows out a smooth line from rounded lips. Kakashi eyes it and follows up his arm, to his chest, up his neck, to those tired eyes. Eyes that can often be mistaken for lazy when they're just so tired of watching life pass by and all the terrible occurrences for them to witness. All those occurrences take the colors of the world, drain them, and leave things black, white, and gray. Would this return some of the shades? Only one way to find out. Kakashi takes it and takes in a deep drag. His eyes water as he tries not to cough, but can't stop a little sputter from choking out. The smoke stuffs up behind his eyes and makes his brain float. Not a good thing for a ninja of his status to be doing, but he had seen worse out of better. Not like this was a regular thing. The boy takes his pipe back and holds it between his teeth as he's caught in a daze at something outside. The deep sea of stars and the mystery of the night which could not compare to the mystery of the quiet room. Kakashi again finds himself staring deep into the boy. Names had never been exchanged and reason's never known. So what did this all mean?

"You know if you want something from me just say it. The less playing around the better. I'm a straight forwards kind of guy." The boy stands facing him and somehow towering over him. Kakashi feels like the short distance to look up is like trying to find the precipice of a mountain. "You want to commit a sin?"

"I've never been a saint." Kakashi retorts.

"Saints are the worst kind of sinners. Be happy you're not one. You're still another pathetic human, but not stuck on false ideals." The way he speaks leaves Kakashi speechless. What can he say that could argue against this understanding and hate of humanity? The worst kind of truth was the kind spilled from purity. There was no debating it. If Kakashi was sober he'd be able to find a quote or fable that could contest, but he is drunk and at the mercy of this young man who was barely out of childhood. This helplessness is making him feel so strange. What was in that pipe? What was in that wine? What was in those words that made him want to drift away and give up all his free will? What did this boy want from him? What did he want from this boy? His mind is wrapped around so many questions it's getting crowded, but outside everything is silent and still.

The boy unties the knot at the back of his forehead protector and pulls it off from the front. Kakashi looks up at him. For the first time in a long time his face is completely exposed to another human being or at least a creature in the form of a human being. He isn't sure. His hand goes out and finds the dip of the boy's back. He wants to find out. He has to know what makes this lad so special. The boy lets him pull him in close. Is this what he wants? Kakashi can feel the heat of his body calling out to him even though the boy is as cool as ice. Something in the scent has been proven to attract animals to one another. Chemicals will flow without conscious thought. His palm is beginning to moisten as it moves up the deep dip of his spine under his shirt. The boy had said it himself i_"...if you want something from me just say it..."/i_Just say it.

Kakashi uses the counter to pull himself to his feet and presses himself against the boy's smaller frame. "What I want. . ." he has to practically catch his breath. He never got nervous so then what was this rush in his veins making him perspire? ". . .is you." He finally admits it out loud. It is what has been building in the back of his mind since the moment he laid eyes on this precious demon of temptation. Just admitting it and feeling his body against his own has made him hard all over. He connects his lips to his and feels the tingle of heat grow across his skin and touch every inch of him. This boy held a greater sensation than any alcohol or drug could deliver. He had never felt this driven to dive in and let himself flow freely. How badly he wishes for this to last forever, but the boy shoves Kakashi off and makes him sit on the barstool. Kakashi opens his mouth to at least apologize, but the boy plunges into him, lapping his tongue against Kakashi's. It sends a quiver down into his ever tightening pants. There was no longer any room down there. He is going to explode and couldn't care less as long as the boy doesn't stop. His hands find Kakashi's zipper, opens his vest with ease, and pulls up layers of shirt until they're bunched under his armpits. His tongue swirls around Kakashi's in a suggestive manner. He pulls back and leaves Kakashi's mouth agape, wanting more. As a woman would the boy crosses his arms and pulls his A-shirt over his head. He slides back between Kakashi's legs and bites at his nipples, distracting him from his diligent hands skillfully working lose the small button and zipper of his pants. Kakashi grips the overhang of the counter and the seat as he tries not to get too excited. Suddenly the boy falls and reveals Kakashi's own exposed member. He hadn't even felt it being moved. The boy's tongue lays on his bottom lip and licks all the way up from the base to the dripping tip as if it were a melting popsicle. His tongue laps across the head not missing a drop. Kakashi gasps as the boy's warm, wet mouth covers him completely and slowly slides up. Hungrily the boy sucks and dances his tongue up and down. Kakashi's eyes roll up as his head goes back. His mind has finally quieted. All the questions and fears have vanished. There are no thoughts to distract or worry it all has been replaced by this ever consuming ecstasy. Makes him long for more, harder, and faster so the sparks of pleasure would fly up his spine and drown him. His hand latches into the boy's feather soft hair and forces him to breath him in deeper. The boy silently complies as his own spit and Kakashi's juices overflow his mouth and run down. The boy swallows hard as he tries to maintain speed and deny the his own throbbing urges. Tiny moans that come from him are muffled. This makes Kakashi's legs twitch.

The boy pulls off and his lips make the same popping noise as when he released the wine bottles mouth. The thick liquids drip out the corner of his mouth. Kakashi wipes it away with his thumb and steadies his breathing as he gazes into the young man's face. He's so lovely he can barely stand it. Faces like his were only seen in picturesque art made from dreams of angels and deities, but here it was bringing pleasure to him in order to bring pleasure to itself. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Why wasn't he on his knees making this boy cry out in pure pleasure? Yet there's something so tender in the boy's strange colored eyes. It calls for him a need that he may not be able to satisfy, but wants him to try. Kakashi lifts him up and they kiss so hard their teeth make dents behind the lips. Kakashi knows he needs to feel him. He knows the boy wants to feel him as deeply and fully as possible. Their mouths open and lips encompass one another. Kakashi's mouth is filled with a sweetened salty taste that makes his mouth water. His vest slides off his shoulders to the floor. He runs his hand through the boy's hair until he comes to that little tie holding back the rest of his silken hair and releases it. The boy's onyx threads drape around his face giving him an even more feminine touch. Kakashi can feel the pink of his cheeks glow. The boy spots this also, but doesn't stop. He grabs hold of Kakashi's shirts and yanks them up as he sucks on his lips. Kakashi snatches the hem of the boy's jeans and pulls him roughly to him and drops his pants to the floor. Practically naked Kakashi stands and let's his own drop right along. They stand bare with hot flesh cooling in the air.

Kakashi lifts his chin and kisses him gently. He denies his racing hormones and moves slowly. In perfect step Kakashi walks him backwards. Their lips barely part for even a second. Neither of them can catch their breath. Kakashi wraps his arms around the boy's stoic back and bends him back. Letting Kakashi take him he lets his body go limp as Kakashi lowers him upon his crisp bed. Wanting his legs open and knees press against Kakashi's sides. Kakashi holds himself over him and runs his fingertips along the boy's stomach. They are both longing and waiting. Kakashi shifts forwards taps the head against the boy's opening. Should he dare? The boy slides the bangs over his Sharingon eye then down over the scar. His hand then comes down to a spot on his own chest Kakashi hadn't noticed before. The spot is a jagged and uneven X over where his heart rests. He isn't relating the two to show Kakashi, but he is doing it for himself. He can feel a connection between them. Pain and heartache. So much alike they are that Kakashi doesn't need to search his mind to know what he wants. Kakashi runs a hand along his thigh and holds him up just a bit. Inside him is warm and tight. He can feel this with merely the head. It makes him tremble and tense. The boy is caught in a stare at Kakashi's tired eyes, but excited expression. He raises his legs up higher and uses them to pull Kakashi in a little more. Kakashi eases in every inch a spasm of delight. All the way in and they're both heaving lustfully. Kakashi holds back as much as he can which causes even greater reactions inside him. It's driving him mad. He just wants to go into a primal state and let his body take control. Kakashi starts to pull out and the boy's mouth opens in a silent scream as his back arches. Halfway out he moves back in setting a steady rhythm. Every movement Kakashi does makes the boy tighten so hard around him. Gripping pleasure tingles up him and all through that area. His hot little hole is squeezing out every drop of love Kakashi can give without bursting. He's half tempted to cry from the damning delight overcoming him. His hips gyrate as he thrusts in and out a little faster with each few pulls. All thoughts and inhibitions have flown out the window. There is only him and this beautiful creature filling him with a frenzy of lust. His pores have opened and his chakra is racing through him almost as fast as the adrenaline swelling his muscles to the brink of their proportions. He needs to scream to call out to release this energy. He can't take it anymore. The boy suddenly pulls himself to Kakashi and embraces him tightly as he digs his nails into his back. The rush is intoxicating. A suppressed moan bellows out from deep inside. Kakashi can't form words just noises. Noises his member is yelling out from inside. Sparks pop and reach every end of every nerve and send him into spasms. The world is lit with fireworks behind his eyelids and give the world colors once again. Colors of fleshy pink, hot red, pale orange, and lightning silver. If all exuberant pleasures in the world were sins this experience would be at the top of the list.

Kakashi lets his head drop. How he wished to make this last as long as his body would allow. It was a blessed rapture that could never be topped. Nothing else matters. The world is empty and only them in this little room exists. Kakashi finds himself smiling and finally finding his breath. He looks over his petite lover and blinks, confused. The boy's arms drop from Kakashi's back. Still running down his cheeks are tears. Many-many tears have soaked into dark spots on the pillow where the boy was looking up at him. Now he is facing off to the side in a shy manor and his eyes are closed. Kakashi carefully pulls out and sits back on his shins. The boy gulps and opens his eyes a crack. Had Kakashi just committed such a sin?

Kakashi is filled with a confused dread. Had his sins gone too far? Had the boy truly pushed until that barrier within him was broken? Damn kids never knew when to quit. Damn kids always pushing too far just to feel alive. In the end what more did it do besides hurt themselves? All of Kakashi's experiences resurface and he's suddenly filled with wisdom years in the making, but he can't voice a single one. It seemed too cruel to patronize him now and put it in his face how wrong he's been. Even if Kakashi were to he didn't know where to begin. The drinking, smoking, leaving doors unlocked, taking strangers home, or having sex with said strangers all the kid's mistakes he had just made himself. He had no right to scold him.

The boy sits up with his head down. His delicate hair hides his face and he gets up, heading straight to the bathroom. Kakashi watches him out the corner of his eye. Had he hurt the boy? That's the problem with mortals they think godly creatures were limitless and unshakable. Kakashi grabs his briefs from his pants, pulls up his mask, and leans against the bathroom doorway. He stands in the shower with his head still down so he can feel the hot water beat down over his body. Kakashi folds his arms and observes. He's left the light off, but the curtain is clear so he can see him. At the base of his back is terribly deep bruising that rises up his spine or was it the bad lighting? Kakashi can't tell. So many things about him are left in the dark. Who was this kid?

"Most people smoke after sex." Kakashi sounds like he's suggesting something.

"Most people don't put on a mask after sex. It seems that you're the one who's ashamed not me. Maybe you should be in here."

Kakashi's eyes narrow. For someone who's acting so shy he sounds very headstrong. His actions haven't matched his tone since they've met. Which is the real one? "Most people don't have sex with strangers." Kakashi spits out.

"Most people don't follow a stranger to undetermined locations to have sex."

Again the boy got him. "Is it normal for you?"

"Having sex with strange men?" The boy is more implying the question than actually being confused as to what Kakashi is asking. That's the question the kid wanted to answer not the "how often do you sleep with strangers" one. "If given the chance any man would have sex with another man they admire or find beautiful. You're no exception. So what either of us does is not considered normal. Normal is for the weak minded that are uncomfortable with change. Normal is an odd implication coming from a man who hides from the world using a mask."

"Kinda conceded of you-calling yourself beautiful then me odd. . ."

The boy lifts his head and lets the water hit his face. "I never called myself beautiful. I implied that you might or other men might think that. I don't see myself as beautiful, not in the least." He's looking up now, but sounding so depressing. Kakashi can hardly believe him. Didn't he see himself as attractive when his body is flawless and face meant for magazine spreads. This boy could be a model, but he's drowning himself in alcohol, smoking, and dangerous sex as if he's daring death. How Kakashi could just reach out and punch the kid a good one. He was right and it drove him nuts with interest. Kakashi does find him beautiful and so intelligent. It's a deadly combination especially for a young man. Natural talents like that can put a man so high in the food chain he'd never have to lift a finger and could use anyone he liked. But this boy wasn't like that. That one scar over his heart said so. What was it that Kakashi didn't understand about him? His moods were dark, his habits bad, his home plain, his attractiveness on high, his genius ever growing, and secrets locked tight. Kakashi scratches the back of his neck. He didn't even know the boy's name. Did he know his? Did he even care?

He snatches a towel off the rack and dries off as he slips past Kakashi. He stands in the middle of his floor and rubs the towel over his hair. When he pulls it off it's an adorable mess. "You can stay or you can go. Either way I don't care. Just leave when I say leave." Straightforward was right. The boy drops his towel where he stands and crawls into bed.

"Where are your pajamas?"Kakashi has to ask.

"Don't own any," the boy mumbles from under the covers. He's all tuckered out.

Kakashi sighs and picks the towel off the floor and replaces it back on the rack. He hates little messes like that. It's just plain laziness. He then stands next to the bed and glances around. No clocks or calendars. There's no sense of time or days in a room like this. A person could go crazy in a room so simple and lacking of reality. There wasn't even a radio. It was clear this kid didn't live a normal life. There was nothing to indicate any real abnormality, but there also wasn't anything to implicate normality. There wasn't anything at all. In that simple observation it made the kid weird. Kakashi gives in. The alcohol and physical activity had been enough to make him not care what the others were thinking. He barely lifts the blankets as he slides in them. The bed is brand new. The kid hadn't been living there long. Kakashi puts one hand behind his head and begins to drift off. He rolls over onto his side and can smell the sweet scent of warm skin and slightly oiled hair. Something still wasn't right.

"What's your name?" Kakashi wonders.

"What does it matter?" He's groggy and stubborn.

"It matters to me." Kakashi lets more emotion through than he intended. He sounds hurt.

The boy opens his eyes a crack and blinks. "Sho."

"Sho," Kakashi hums. So simple and little it's a kid's name. It's gentle and modest. Maybe it did fit the boy perfectly even if it is made up. Now he has a name.


	2. Chapter 2

The Perfect Drug (part 2)

A big bear of a yawn signals Asuma's awakening. He sits up and reaches for the bottle of water sitting next to an ashtray filled with cigarettes. When he drinks he never really realizes how many he's tarred his lungs with. The water soothes his dry throat and loosens his tongue from the thick saliva. It had been boring. There's not much fun being alone in a new town. Why did Kakashi have to go and be so sensitive? Asuma was just trying to be a good friend. He glances over and spots the two rolled up beds ready for check out. The strained grunts of numbers lead him to Gai.

"1077, 1078, 1079. . ." Gai is doing hand stand pushups. A puddle of sweat under him tells that he's been up since before dawn.

"Just watching him makes me tired." Asuma rubs his eyes. He sees Kakashi's backpack totally undisturbed from where he dropped it. Now that he thinks about it he didn't remember seeing or tripping over Kakashi like he had done to Gai. "Hey, Gai, did Kakashi show up last night?"

"2,000!" Gai hops to his feet. "No, can't say that he did. His bed was still made when I woke. Kakashi is a mystery. The man is not normal and it's that abnormality that makes him a tricky opponent. That's why. . ." Gai's shoujo effects kick in as he stands on a boulder and a great wave crashes up around him. ". . .he is my true rival!"

Asuma covers his face with one hand as he tries not to laugh. "He's not the normal one, Gai?"

Gai becomes serious as a look of dread comes over him. "You don't think. . ."

Gai's reaction concerns Asuma. "Think what?"

"Think that he. . ." the suspense mounts, ". . .that he stayed out all night training!"

Asuma puts a cigarette in his mouth and looks out the window. "Doubt that, but since he didn't come back he's officially M.I.A. so we better find him. Trouble may have found him. Ninja's aren't widely accepted in this area since most end up becoming bandits from the lack of work assigned by the feudal lord."

Gai puts his hands on his hips. "The fool!"

"Hurry up and take a shower so we can start looking."

Gai takes in a deep sniff and lets out an "ah" of satisfaction. "This is the overwhelming scent of successful training and the scent of a man!"

Asuma lights his cigarette. "It smells like cooked eggs and old vegetables." He grunts as he stands up.

"I'd rather have that than the lung blackening scent of tobacco spoiling my natural aroma." Asuma sighs at Gai's stubbornness. Why couldn't there be anymore rooms?

Gai follows as Asuma traces his last steps Kakashi and him shared. From the hotel to the bar they split up going left and right. They stop by public places giving and showing descriptions by covering half their faces, one eye, and making a slanted point for the hair, but all with no luck. They meet back at the bar.

"I've seen that guy." A shady character covered in many bandages speaks from narrow ally. Gai and Asuma turn to him and wait. "But it'll cost ya." He rubs two fingers together in a greedy motion. Asuma pulls out his wallet, but Gai huffs and slams the guy against the wall. Asuma was hoping to not cause a public disturbance. Attracting attention was not the ninja way. "Okay-okay I'll tell ya!" The man is about to piss himself. "He was attacked, but ended up killing the guy. He showed up later with some kid at a bar in the slums. It's called Reno's, I think." He spills the beans like a pitiful stool pigeon. "That's all I know I swear!"

Gai drops him. "We should've found this coward earlier." Asuma smiles and they head out.

* * *

Sho wakes with the sting of a cruel sun in his eyes. He sneers at it and blocks it out with his hand. The red of his blood makes an outline through the edges of skin. His head and eyes are heavy. This he is used to. There's a thin film of sweat down his back where another body is pressed. This he is not used to. He rolls onto his back and is face to face with an older man with a scar over his left eye and wild silver hair. A tight cloth mask is pulled under his chin to reveal a handsome face. This man's left arm is draped over him as if he were a his teddy bear. It takes Sho a moment, but it all resurfaces. Sho never blacked out when he drank. If anything he could recall things better. i_'He didn't leave,'_ /iSho isn't surprised, but offset by this. He wasn't used to anyone staying or being so close to him. He didn't really like to be touched and hated being emotionally connected. A passionate night like that could make a man start feeling all kinds of illogical things. He relaxes. No use in crying over spilled sex.

Paranoia pulls Kakashi's eyes open. It felt as if someone was watching him. His puffy oculars find an angelic face that would makes any woman green with envy and the same type of equally sleepy eyes. He can remember almost everything. The memories before the bar and going to bed are crystal, but the rest is slightly fuzzy like looking through foggy goggles. One thing was for certain he was still heated from the intoxicating night before. He never experienced such raw and unfathomed fervor. Thinking about it is putting tension on his morning erection. Now that he is facing this young man he is unsure of what to say so he smiles. "Morning."

* * *

The bar is a total dive. The usual barflies are already hovering and sucking them down. They'll be here spending all their weeks wages until they're too numb to acknowledge reality. Asuma approaches the bar coolly with Gai in toe with a tough guy expression on his face. Asuma leans against the bar and gets the bartender's attention. "We're looking for a man just over my height, silver hair, one eye, thin, and is a ninja wearing a mask. He'd have this symbol on him." Asuma points to his forehead protector.

The bartender has to squint to see it in the low lighting. He snickers and goes back to cleaning the counter. "Yeah, I've seen that ninja. Was in here last night taking them back against one of my regulars as if it were a contest." The bartender pauses. "You lose him?" It was a question meant to tease. Asuma doesn't like it. "He didn't stay here I can tell you that, but he did leave with that regular."

"Who, and be a little more specific. This is kind of important." Asuma is keeping cool.

"I bet it is. That regular I see in here with a different man every week. Can't keep them away, too pretty. Drinks as if their liver was made of iron."

"A woman?" Asuma assumes.

"Woman? In this place? No-no you're looking for a young man not even old enough to be drinking. This is a place for broken men and depressed bums. Only reason I keep catering to him is because he's the only tab holder that pays his tab always in full and always in cash. This kid is prettier than any girl I've ever laid eyes on. I know he lives around here in an apartment on the east end. That's about all I know about him other than he's quieter than a mouse and smokes like an old man. Good luck in finding your friend. You'll need it." Though Asuma has gotten the information they need the riddles this alcohol jockey was feeding them didn't sound good-not good at all. It churned in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

Sho sits at the counter leaning on his elbows as the smell of rice and fried eggs makes his stomach grumble. He can barely keep his head up. Kakashi has put on his pants and shirt so his mask doesn't feel so out of place all alone around his neck. Sho reaches over to the pipe he left smoldering on a tea plate and taps out the contents before cleaning and refilling it. One deep breath and the smoke is blown out in a steady stream between those plush lips. Kakashi would say something, but after feeling what those lips can do he wouldn't dare object to them wrapping around anything. Sho holds the pipe lazily in his hand and doesn't move. Was he asleep?

"You know what I am. What do you do for a living?" No use in pussy-footing around it.

Sho lifts his head slightly and lets it tilt to the side in a drunken manor. "I'm a hunter." He almost sounds sarcastic, but Kakashi could hardly tell. "I trap, kill, and butcher wild game. People say what they want, when, where, how, and I deliver. I don't really care about their reasons as long as I'm paid up front in full. It involves all kinds of pelts and parts. Whatever they desire." They both knew exactly what it sounded like. So Sho is a poacher. That would explain his fresh surroundings, guilt driven lifestyle, and strange moral beliefs. The ugly side of humanity is all he ever saw or witnessed from himself. Still, as built as the boy is it's hard to imagine those soft hands spattered with blood and delicate body carrying around dead animals. Kakashi slides the eggs off on a plate with a side of rice then a quick mix of a tart dressing and steamed vegetable. He sets it in front of Sho who immediately sets down his pipe on the tiny plate and digs in with the chopsticks sticking out of the rice.

Kakashi has to pause as Sho eats. "You're eating as if you haven't eaten in days."

"I don't know," Sho says between rapid bites. "I can't remember."

Kakashi looks upon him sympathetically. Maybe killing animals had made the boy sick and unable to eat right after due to the gore and guilt? His clients would be despicable people that no one would want to stand, the richest of the bottom of the barrel. He knew that kind all too well. To serve them made one nauseous inside. He pokes at his eggs and accidentally breaks the yoke. "Dammit." He sighs.

The brooms kick up dirt as they sweep the stone pathway clean. The old woman points to a corner the preteen missed. The boy hurries to please her. Asuma and Gai approach and patiently wait to be noticed. The boy is the first. He tugs at the old woman's apron strings. She glances up and cleans off her glasses to get a better look. The old woman is slightly hunched with long gray hair pulled back by a bandana. The teenage boy is only a foot taller than her with short, shaggy brown hair that was probably cut at home and his white skin is touched with a pink burn on each cheek. Outside chores were a man's job.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, but we were looking for someone. He's got tall hair that points straight up, he wears a mask and covers one eye, he's kind of tall and thin. Responds to the name Kakashi." Asuma describes as Gai does all the silly gestures to mimic the description.

They're both silent for a moment as if they were speaking in another tongue. The old lady adjusts her glasses. "No, sorry, haven't seen anyone around here like that." She shrugs and turns back to her sweeping.

"I have..." the boy blurts out before he can stop himself. He glances at the old woman who glares at him, shuts his mouth tight, and sucks in his lips.

Gai and Asuma stare him down. They were hiding something. "Please, it's very important that we find him. He's a comrade of ours. If something has happened to him we have to know." Asuma pleads in all seriousness.

"Hintan." The old woman scolds him. "You were safe inside your room last night."

The boy studies the two men. "But grandmother, they're wearing the same uniforms and the man had the same kind of symbol of a leaf on his forehead. He looks just like they say." The boy begs to tell. He doesn't want to lie. He clutches the broom with sweaty palms and the pink of his cheeks glows. "I know the man stayed here last night." All their faces light up in shock.

"Hintan, how can you know this? You were inside all night, weren't you?" The grandmother has switched her concerns from what the men are to the well-being of her grandson.

"I'm sorry, grandmother, I wanted to be outside under the stars. I went on the roof again and that's how I saw that man and the other walking into the building." The boy sounds so ashamed of something so simple. "I can tell them the truth, can't I?"

The grandmother sighs. No use in lying now when their cover has been broken. "Alright, Hintan, you may. But know, strangers, we don't want any trouble. We have nothing to do with our tenants as long as they pay on time and don't bother any of the other tenants. All we know about this young man is that he comes and goes, always pays on time, and sometimes comes home with strange men. Sometimes they leave in the morning and sometimes they disappear all together. We know nothing more than what we see and we see nothing. Do you understand?" The grandmother lays it all out there. She than looks down with sad eyes. "One time men came looking for their companion. They were persistent and dangerous. We gave them his apartment number and never saw them again. They vanished into thin air. We kept an eye on him and saw no change in his routines. It was like nothing happened at all and they never existed. You don't want to end up as they did. You've been warned."

The boy is a little shaken. In his mind he can still hear the sounds of their night. He had listened to it all the entire time. It had made him tremble and blush and bite his lip until it bled. In his heart he wanted to experience such sounds. With everyone watching he can't let it take over him. What an embarrassing situation that would make. "Apartment 405 on the second floor."

There must have been more to the story, but that didn't matter to them. It was becoming more and more apparent that Kakashi could be in some big danger and the fool had walked right into it. i_'What could he have been thinking?'/i_ Asuma's mind growls. "Thank you." He quickly moves through them and heads up the stairs.

"Wait," the boy stops them, "knock softly. He doesn't like to be disturbed."

There's a soft knock at the door. They both pause and stare at it as if it'd open itself. "Don't answer it." Sho orders. "I don't get company." Simple explanation. Sho gets up and stands next to the door to peek through the cracks instead of the peephole. Kakashi raises a hand to stop him, but just scratches the back of his head as to the attire Sho is currently sporting. "Looks like comrades of yours, Kakashi." Sho smiles.

"What?" Kakashi whispers shocked.

Sho's little smile shows his large, vampiric canines. "I'll get rid of them." He grabs hold of the doorknob and swings the door open. Asuma gets an eye full of a naked young man. "What do you want?" He asks in a low, angry voice.

Asuma's eyes travel all over the boy's body before he can spit out an answer. "I must have the wrong apartment. Sorry," Asuma tries to register the image as he walks away.

Gai is helping the old woman sweep as he waits. When he spots Asuma he's scratching his head and has a very puzzled look on his face. "Did you find Kakashi?"

"No, but I did find a naked young man with an attitude problem."

"Sounds like him." Grandma takes back her broom and continues. "Strange yet beautiful boy. With those looks he's the child every mother wishes she could be blessed with."

"We should keep looking then check back in at the hotel to see if he's there." Asuma plans. He lights another cigarette and inhales deep.

Sho can't help, but release a light, airy chuckle as he closes the door. He sits right back down and continues to devour his breakfast. Kakashi is glaring at him. "I'm not carrying any ID." Kakashi sets down his plate and prepares himself. "I never told you my name." His weapons are on the floor with his vest. He plans out the quickest way to reach them.

"Didn't you?" He keeps on eating without a care. "I must have heard it somewhere."

Then it hits Kakashi. The only time his name was ever said was by Yasuko. Sho had been in the ally suddenly to save him when he wasn't there before. Why hadn't he realized it all before? Sho wipes a grain of rice from the side of his mouth with a finger and sucks it off. That's why he had been blind to the obvious. "What do you intend on doing? What do you want with me?" Kakashi demands to know.

Sho looks up at him. "And you called me conceded?" He places his chopsticks in the empty bowl. "You're making all the assumptions. Why don't you tell me?"

There's another knock at the door. Kakashi waits for him to move. Sho peeks the exact same way, sighs, and grabs a robe from off the bathroom door. He opens the front door to a small figure in a brown cloak. It's completely covered. The cover is shyly pulled back to reveal a older woman who was old enough to be a young grandmother. She's wrinkled with worry and lack of sleep. The bags under her eyes say it all. She whispers something and Sho responds with just a, "Yeah." Sho lamely waves his hand for her to move back and shuts the door behind him. Kakashi doesn't move, but listens closely. He can't make out much as the woman blubbers out something about needing his help and she's willing to pay any amount or do anything he wants. Then she gets quiet. "That's enough. I don't need to know anymore. Just come with the full amount at the drop-off point." Sho tells her and comes back inside. He takes his seat and picks up his pipe. "It's rude to eavesdrop." He informs him.

Kakashi can feel himself becoming bolder. "You know you never explained to what extent of animals you're willing to go after for the right price." Kakashi hides his hands at his waist. "Hunting or not, killing a man is still considered murder."

Sho doesn't respond. He takes little puffs and stares at the open end of his pipe. He shifts slightly and holds it in his resting hand. "Do you think man is any better than any other animal on this shit-hole planet?" Sho's face doesn't match his ugly words. He's gone off into space. "All animals bleed the same the only difference is the conscious thought human beings put behind their actions. They're all so stupid and greedy. They want so badly for self preservation when death in the inevitable truth. Nonexistence is only a heartbeat away so go and cry about it. When it comes it's a release, isn't it? People should be grateful for such mercy. They no longer have to run, hide, and piss themselves in fear. There is no longer any pain or suffering."

Kakashi steps back. Who is this young man? He's never known. It's starting to hurt his head. "There's more to life than death to end a pitiful existence. Man is more than that, Sho, you know it." Kakashi gently argues.

Sho returns from his daze. "I know- - it's time for you to leave."

Kakashi shuts the door and hesitates to let go of the knob. Sho didn't move or speak since the moment he told Kakashi to go. Kakashi wasn't even sure if Sho was breathing anymore. The guy was angry that much was for certain and if Kakashi didn't leave it would all be directed at him. The boy at the bottom of the steps spots Kakashi and freezes up. Kakashi smiles and waves at him. The boy is totally flushed a bright pink. He sweeps rapidly trying to ignore him. Kakashi shrugs and walks on by with his hands in his pockets. The day is light and birds are chirping. As for time all he can tell is it's past noon. He'd forgotten to check in or more likely he didn't care enough to check in. Inside the hotel room the beds are made, bags are set in random corners, but there's not sign of the other jounin. Kakashi takes the opportunity to jump in the shower.

The scents of the night still linger on him and with his sensitive nose he can still smell it. For some reason he's saddened by the smell washing away. It had felt comforting to have his scent on him like a child to it's familiar stuffed animal. He runs his hands through his own hair and remember the feathery black strands slipping through his fingers. He closes his eyes and becomes disgruntled. Why was he still thinking of that possible psychopath? He glares down and sees his massive erection pointing up at him. Just the thought of him and his entire body reacted. He can still feel Sho on him and inside him, coursing through his veins like heroine. He has never noticed how dark the veins on his member get when he's as hard as this. It didn't seem normal. Normal, there was that word again. He grabs hold of himself. He had to shake this boy from his system. He had to get him out. He was no longer any part of his life. It was a one night stand nothing more. Sho didn't care for him and he didn't feel for him, did he? Impossible. He's never gotten emotionally involved with anyone or anything. A ninja never shows any emotion. His tears drip down his face. He was crying. Sho was crying as he came. Sho was angry at Kakashi's assumptions and corrections of his beliefs. What was he hiding that made him so sad? What was it about him that made him so addicting?

Kakashi's body trembles and he falls back against the cold wall. He breathes in the humid air and feels the perspiration combining with the clean water. More thoughts of Sho come to mind. His hand pumps faster and faster. His soft lips and skillful tongue teasing him. The way his back arched as he'd pull out when he let Kakashi take him. To feel him so deeply drove him crazy with lust. The hard desire to have him there right now makes him rock his head back and forth with need. Every droplet of water hitting his writhing pecs and abs only heightens the sensation. Those pale orange eyes watching him as he slept held such a corrupt purity. Kakashi's head smacks the wall as he tosses it back and stares at the ceiling. He still holds himself after all the fluids have shot out at his feet. His hair covers his face, but can't hide the realization that has flushed over his face. He wants more.

Asuma and Gai enter the room about ready to give up. They've searched every inch of the entire city. The only leads lead them back to the slums where they know Kakashi was attacked, seen with some kid, then completely vanishes from the radar. The smell of hot soap turns them to the bathroom. Gai jumps ahead and kicks open the door. Kakashi glances back in surprise with half the towel drying his hair and the other in front of his face. Luckily there's a spare around his waist.

"Oh, hello fellows, have a good night?" Kakashi asks casually as if he's been there the whole time.

"Sure," Asuma walks up behind Gai. "But our morning we could have done without. We've been looking for you since we woke up. Where the hell were you?"

Kakashi faces the shower and continues drying his hair. "Well, you know, out and about. Not anywhere really. Just getting lost on the path of life."

"You liar!" Gai screams and points at his back. "You got those scratches in battle with a group of thieves! Don't deny it!" Asuma gives an understanding, crooked smile.

"I haven't denied anything, Gai." Kakashi covers his back with the towel. "What was the question again?"

Gai's face about falls off then he explodes. "Where have you been all night!"

"I thought I already answered that one." Kakashi wiggles a pinky in his ear.

Asuma puts a hand on Gai's shoulder. "Come on, let's leave this tom-cat to finish getting ready so we can leave." Asuma drags Gai out and peeks back in as he's shutting the door. "Was it worth it?" Asuma knew, but didn't know.

Kakashi stares down. The scratches on his back were beginning to itch now that he acknowledged them. Was it worth it? "Yeah, it was." Kakashi says in monotone.

Asuma smiles. "Glad your stubborn hide took my advice." The door shuts.

"Yeah," Kakashi agrees regretfully.

Down the winding path to Konoha they travel together. Kakashi and Asuma stop dead. Gai walks up, "What's the matter? Scared of a little. . .uh. . ." Gai freezes when he sees the wild and wide river before them.

"Raging river of ice cold water?" Kakashi finishes Gai's sentence.

"I'm very sorry, sirs, but the dam is let loose once a month to prevent overflows and also allows farmer to irrigate fields twice as fast if needed. It'll be shut off by tomorrow morning. Until then please enjoy yourselves." A helpful old man informs them as he serves their tea at his tiny Inn.

"Can't be helped." Asuma shrugs. "We didn't get too far from that town we stayed in last night, right Kakashi?" Kakashi doesn't even glance over. He knows exactly what Asuma was implying, but Kakashi couldn't go back there to visit his "lover." He still felt a longing for him, but if he'd go back now could he ever leave him again? It was a risk he isn't willing to take. His only commitments were to Konoha. He has to convince himself of that or else he'd of left his strange fantasy for nothing.

PKakashi sits in the window of their even smaller room than the hotel and watches the sun set. The brilliant colors of orange, pink, red, and yellow are a reminder to the other colors he had recently seen. That pale orange: what made a color like that in a person's eyes? Illness? Genetics? And those fangs behind a false smile made him look like a demon. Yet he held the soft graces and beauty of an angel. Which would be worse?

"Kakashi. . .?" Asuma starts to ask, but a scream of terror echoes through the valley and the quiet evening all the way to them. At first they pause not about ready to jump up, but the screams continue. Was someone being murdered? They both get to their feet and rush out. Gai is already at the scene. A few people are gathered around and the screaming woman is now weeping in the arms of a man. In the middle of the circle is a body cut wide open and whose blood is splashed all over the green grass. There's a look of horror on the man's face. The people move out of the way as they approach for a closer inspection. "He's been killed recently. I'd say not even an hour ago." Asuma gives him a good once over. "Look at his ankles." He points out.

Gai and Kakashi lean over. "His ankles are practically broken. I'd say he was running for a while just by the bruising and cuts along his soles. Whoever did this wasn't just killing him they were making him suffer." Gai makes an astute diagnostic. "Asuma, look, do you see anything missing?"

Asuma peers into the perfectly cut chest cavity. Whoever did this had a long, sharp knife or sword. Everyone quickly spots the missing object. "His heart. The killer took his heart. . ." he sounds grim, but pauses when he searches further, ". . .and his kidneys." He's confused by this. "If it were just his heart I'd say this was an act of revenge, but why take his kidneys?"

The graying woman at Sho's door comes to Kakashi's mind. Sho claimed to be a hunter who didn't value human life. He saw humans as just animals. A man with the love of the hunt would give his game fair chance to run and hide. A man like that would love the rush and would always dive head first into dangerous situations to continue that rush. Sho was medicating himself in alcohol and smoking the entire time he was there. It was to drown out those urges, weren't they? i_'Sho,'/i_ Kakashi sighs, i_'did you do this?'_ /i

"Please," the woman sobs, "find the man who did this and bring him to justice. Lord Tenshi did not deserve to die like this."

"This man was a lord?" Asuma is surprised by this. The man's fine clothes are tattered and covered in dirt. He looked just like any dirt poor farmer from the area. "I'm sorry, but we have to be assigned by our hokage before we can take part. . ."

"I'll pay you any price! If you let this man get away then his death will go un-avenged! Doesn't your land have an alliance treaty with ours? This is your duty to catch this murder! I tell you here before all these witnesses that anything is yours and your Hokage can charge whatever price he wants as long as you catch this demon! Please!" The woman is demanding and begging at the same time. Asuma glances back at his comrades. If they deny her request it'll cause bad feelings between the nations, but then again they aren't allowed to take on missions without consent. If they did that the repercussions could be severe. All of them wear a stone face. The body is getting colder. "He's a feudal lord! I am his daughter! I am now lord! I order you to help us! By the alliance between our nations and villages I order you to catch his killer!"

"It's a hard call." Asuma thinks out loud. Out of the blue Kakashi takes off. "Hey, Kakashi, what are you doing?" Asuma yells after him. Gai follows so Asuma has no choice.

Having taken a lead Kakashi cuts this thumb and summons Pakkun. "What is it now Kakashi? Lost another student?" Kakashi pulls off his forehead protector and holds it to his nose. "What's this?"

"There's a second scent on this. Can you find it?" Kakashi knows they will eventually be assigned to find him, but the trail will be cold. He knows it was a mistake to be so gun-ho, but if anyone should find him it should be him. "We have to move quickly."

Pakkun picks up the scent. "Yes, I found it, but you're being very hasty." Kakashi puts the protector back on without it over his left eye and waits. Pakkun sighs and leaps into the trees. From branch to branch they jump with great speed. They're almost flying. Kakashi rushes as he can hear Gai and Asuma closing in. "The scent is getting stronger and there's blood in it." Pakkun reports. The forest grows on forever. It's an endless sea of brown, black, and green. Kakashi doesn't miss a step. His speed has slowed, but he can no longer hear Gai and Asuma trying to catch him. "There, up ahead, the scent is from a body!" Pakkun announces. They slow and stop. Quietly they stalk up and hide. Kakashi peeks around a tree and sees a man in all black sitting on the ground. Dried blood clings to dark attire. Not an inch of skin on him can be seen not even his hair. Was that Sho? He couldn't be so sure. Between his resting legs is an air tight cooler with a few strings of dried blood around the edges.

Kakashi slips down cautiously to approach him when he picks up two bodies quickly closing the gap. _i'No!'_ /iKakashi glares back. How was he going to stop them? A whirlwind blows past. The man's covered face pops up and he zips out of the way as the tree he was leaning against splits and falls. Kakashi leaps out of the way. Asuma jumps down for overhead. Gai and Asuma make a triangle with the killer. They stand poised and ready to attack. Kakashi stands in the wing to act as backup. Two against one was enough. Whether or not it was Sho didn't matter. This man is a killer who needs to be brought to justice. It's his duty. He is a ninja first. Gai leaps at him with his "dynamic entry!" The killer ducks only to get Asuma's right hook. He leans back in time for it to skin his cheek. Blood drips down his chin. He hurries out of their tag team and stands in the open. The cooler is tightly gripped under his left arm. Gai's speed is just too much and he gets behind him. With one swift kick the cooler is sent into the air. Asuma recovers the pass and takes off. They all go after him.

Asuma glances back a Gai yells out something to him, but he can't hear. He halts, but not quickly enough as he senses another presence. A sharp pain slices through his stomach. Hot crimson drips to his feet. The blade is pulled out and the cooler snatched from him. His head goes light and he falls back. The killer in black is standing where he stopped, blood-his blood is dripping down his arm, and the cooler is in his hands. Asuma feels a terrible weightlessness coming over him. It's scary falling into the open mouth of death. He can only accept it.

Gai rushes and kicks the killer in the back. He goes flying off the branch and the cooler is thrown from his hands. Gai is about to jump down after it, but Asuma is in mid-fall about to hit the ground. He activates his Hidden Lotus and grabs him just before he hits the ground. The killer regains his senses quickly. His priority was about to be splatter on the terra firma. He flips around, kicks off a branch, and flies head first. The cooler latches snugly in his arms as he somersaults and lands, kicking up a cloud of dirt.

Gai sits with Asuma on the ground and their fugitive only yards away. Gai glares at him as he stands and hops away without a second glance. Asuma coughs up blood. Kakashi rushes to their side. The wound is deep, but smooth. Nothing was torn out of place. Kakashi is fuming. "Take him to get medical attention. I'll catch him. I won't let him get away." He sounds so assure of himself.

Gai stands and balances Asuma against his shoulder. "Kakashi, be careful. He cut Asuma open just using his elbow and no other weapon. Be careful this ninja is using a technique I've never seen before." Gai offers his advice.

Kakashi turns and goes in his direction. The scent of Asuma's blood was now on him and he didn't have much of a head start. Kakashi catches up to him quick. He's stopped again. There he stands with the woman in the brown cloak. He hands her the cooler. She's shaking. Kakashi jumps down and makes his presence known. "Go now." The killer orders her.

"But-but the money. . ." She begins to whimper, but he shoves her back violently.

"Go!" He snaps. She turns and flees as fast as her aged legs will carry her. When she was young she'd run all day and night, but now arthritis was setting in. How she missed being able to run so freely. Now it was a painful chore.

The killer knows that Kakashi's pursuit is after him not his precious cargo. He darts off along the path. Kakashi stays in toe catching up to him with every step. He doesn't have the advantage on the ground so he takes to the trees. There he can jump like the most agile cat from branch to branch at an almost unmatchable speed. Kakashi pushes himself to the limit in order to keep up. He can felt he muscles in his legs splitting. At last they reach a clearing. He is forced back on the ground and only runs a few yards before he swings back around, but is blocked by Kakashi. He stands with a kunai in his hand pointed right at him.

"Looks like the end of the line," Kakashi squints at him, "Sho."

He reaches behind his head and pulls off the mask. His hair is a sticking out all around him as if he just got out of bed. Kakashi resents how cute he looks even with blood staining him. Sho stares at him with those tired eyes that glow in the last streaks of the setting sun. "So you've got me. What do you do now?"

Kakashi grins under his mask. "Does it matter?"

Sho smiles, "I guess not." He throws back his mask and Kakashi realizes he's at the edge of a cliff. Sho glances behind and watches it fall into the raging river made by the draining dam. It's swept under and away the moment it touches.

"I know what you are now. There have been quite a few cases of abducted organs from all kinds of people, but most are from those who are wealthy and therefore guaranteed to be healthier." Kakashi holds his stance, but wants to move in closer. If Sho really is as daring and foolish as he thinks he may jump. "You're a hunter. You force your victims to flee for their lives knowing they're going to die. You ride that adrenaline rush and pick them off. The only question left is why do you do it? I could really care less, but seeing as your reason has to be a dozy I wouldn't mind hearing it."

Sho folds his arms around his waste. "You want to know about me?" He hums as if he's heard that one before. "Tell me, Kakashi, how you're feeling right now."

Kakashi can't help but feel worried. Why would he ask such a question unless he's done something to him? But when: last night or during the chase? Remain cool. "Me? I'm feeling fine. I'm about to take down a violent serial killer and return home."

"That's not the kind of i_feeling/i_ I was talking about." Sho is growing impatient. Kakashi is confused for a minute then realizes all these strange temptations and urges he's been having. Is that what Sho meant? "I was always told ninja's are geniuses, but a simple farm kid like me can outwit any one of you. Maybe genius is a title given by those who are easily impressed?" Kakashi isn't stunned by Sho's insults. The boy is still angry. A lot of young men his age are. Kakashi could chalk it up to any number of reasons, but Sho's must be more specific just by basing it on his crimes and actions. "My reasons for killing are my own. I enjoy it. It doesn't take long to grow sick of slaughtering dim-witted animals. Sadly, it turns out to be just the same. I pick based on the client's needs. It's as easy as that. Got to have a match, but I rarely get to pick and chose. When I do I chose those who have spoiled lives and can't appreciate a thing. I'm not playing god by judging. I'm just killing those I personally can not stand."

"The feeling of longing like an opium addict to the pipe," Kakashi concludes. Sho suddenly appears interested. Kakashi has turned the conversation around. "That was the feeling I was left with when I left you." Kakashi lets his hand relax and stands facing Sho casually. "How did you create such a lasting sensation? What did you do to me?"

Sho bows his head then rolls it to the side. "It sure isn't love." He chuckles. "I didn't do anything to you. What you're feeling is a poison. A very potent one that courses through my veins." Kakashi's heart slows. He was poisoned? "The moment you kissed me trace amounts were transferred through the skin. The moment you fucked me even more was introduced. It's not much by comparison to the crystallized form, but it's something that you're still alive." Sho admits. He doesn't sound thrilled about it. Kakashi can't believe it. It wasn't possible for Sho to still be alive if a poison that potent was flowing inside him. "You don't believe me?" Sho can see it on that covered face of his. He lifts his skin tight shirt out of his pants and turns around. Kakashi's eyes gets wide with shock. At the base of his spine that spot he thought was a gigantic bruise is a dark purple patch of crystal plating. The veins around it course such a dark maroon. The veins around his genitals were the same color. The shirt drops back down and Sho faces him.

"Who did that to you?" Kakashi asks like he's implying he had done it to himself.

Sho's eyes change as if he's about to cry. "There was once a clan that specialized in poisons. My mother was a ninja that infiltrated them and was caught. They let her go." Sho is filled with rage. Kakashi knows that the only way an enemy is let lose is to be punished or used to get what they want. "She was pumped with this poison that grows naturally on it's own. She became deathly ill as the poison spread. Her two children that were always by her side caught what she had since it had become airborne through her coughs. It affected my little sister worse than me. It turned her into a walking corpse. As for me I was left with the duty of putting mother out of her misery so she couldn't hurt us anymore." Sho is off in a daze as the dreadful memories resurface. "We were left alone with a bitch that used us like slaves. She turned our house into an inn where many travelers would stay. So many of them were business men of high rank and perverted appetites. At the time the poison hadn't crystallized in our bodies so many of them got away with taking away our childhood, but giving nothing in return." Sho's story makes Kakashi's stomach churn. Pedophiles and poison wasn't a fairy tale life. Kakashi knows right then why Sho was crying. No matter how much his body may enjoy it his mind is taken back to those nightmarish nights when sick men would take him and his little sister as their own toys. "Does it make you happy to know about me? Is the romantic mystery destroyed for you? Now you can return to your village happy knowing you didn't fall for some pretty little boy. It was all a drug induced dream."

"What are you going to do now? Harvesting organs doesn't suit you and once you're caught it's over." Kakashi isn't so concerned with Sho's intentions anymore. He's more concerned about Sho.

"Don't pity me. I hate pity. Only the feeble hearted pity others." Sho snips at him. "I only do what suits me. But if I were to have a goal in this life before I die a painful death at the hands of this poison I'd say I'll finish what I've already started. I remember them all every last pervert and I'm going to kill them. It isn't going to be with the poison my mother cursed us with. I'm going to do it with my bare hands just like I always dreamed of since it started. They're going to suffer until they wish to be in hell. Then after every last one has been pulled to pieces I'll sit back with my pipe and die."

Kakashi scoffs at him. "Nice plan. Sounds like you've got your whole life planned out. But there's only one fault," Kakashi starts to walk towards him, "you won't get that chance when you're incarcerated." Sho doesn't move into a defensive stance. He doesn't do anything at all. Kakashi knows he's not going to go quietly. Sho jolts to the side, but Kakashi catches him by his left wrist and yanks him back. He grabs hold of his other wrist and holds his hands up where he can see him. Sho stands with his eyes closed. He almost lost his composure. Kakashi was beginning to see through him. The boy held no conscious he only drank and smoked to drown out the pain in his body. He enjoyed murdering others and planned on killing until he died. Sho may have been a angel once, but he fell far from grace. "You're not escaping."

"You're not going to stop me. If I bleed on any open scratch or orifice of your body you'll die in minutes." Sho warns him.

Kakashi glares at him. "You think I'm afraid of that poison you hold?" He yanks down his mask, grabs the back of Sho's soft hair, and gently kisses him. Sho's eyes remain open. He's panicked and can't get away. But he quickly calms down and eases into Kakashi's soft lips that hold him with such strength and unspoken understanding.

Kakashi slowly releases his mouth and feels his heart racing. Poison or no poison those fantasies and his constant thoughts of Sho weren't due to any addiction other than the one in his heart. The more he tried to suppress it the harder it was to control his self.

Sho breathes a little shakily. For the first time he's acting like a shy boy his age should. He gazes into Kakashi's eyes. "You haven't seen my technique yet." His voice dives into something dark when his eyes still twinkle with tender feelings. "I can materialize my chakra into a solid shape out of any pore on my body." With that said a blade shaped object pierces through Kakashi's left hand that's still gripping Sho's wrist. He gasps as he lets go and pulls back. Blood pours out all over his arm. Kakashi holds his own wrist tightly and heaves in pain.

Sho takes a step back. Kakashi reaches out to him. "Don't. . .!" He cries out, but Sho instantly disappears over the edge. Kakashi drops to his knees and stares down at a quick splash, but no body resurfaces. He's gone.

He scratches at the bandages on his hand. The cut was so clean no stitching was even needed. Not even a scar would remain. He wishes it would. It would serve as a reminder of one night of his life that made him alive again. As desperate as it all ended it was something uniquely beautiful.

"Was the operation a success, doctor?" A sweet little nurse asks the older gentleman as he walks through the hall.

Kakashi watches as he stops with a weak smile. Hours of surgery must have worn him out. "Yes, it was."

"But I thought they didn't have any matching organs for those children?" The nurse inquires.

"Their only guardian, their grandmother, showed up last night with them. Can you believe it? She even had the full amount for the operation." The doctor chuckles with delight at how it all worked out.

"No way! She didn't even have enough to cover the rooms a few days ago. How could she get all that money?" The nurse is bedazzled.

The doctor shrugs with an old man sigh. "I don't know. The village may have pitched in. It doesn't matter. I don't want to know. That business is her own. The important thing is those darling kids will make a full recovery. Let's leave it at that." The doctor keeps walking.

"Oh, yes, doctor," the nurse shies away now that he's told her his opinion.

Kakashi gazes back down at his hand and moves his fingers. Everything still in tact. Sho didn't take the money. He didn't let the woman try to give it to him. He even felt the need to distract him from the woman so she could get away. He hadn't noticed at the time, but the more he replays it in his mind he sees a side of Sho that was hidden by the drama and dark words. Sho: the peculiar yet beautiful young man who hungered for love when no one can hold him without being poisoned. He must have been convinced that the poison is all he is and he can only harm others after being used and abused. That would play hard on a boy's psyche. It would warp his personality so that he could not even recognize it himself. If he could have would he save him? Was that what he was trying to do? Was Kakashi trying to save him?

"Hatake-san, we have your friend out of surgery. He's going to make a full recovery. He just needs bed rest until he heals and we're sure there isn't any infection. You may see him for a short while if you would like." An orderly informs Kakashi in such a serious tone it sounds as if Asuma died.

"Thanks," Kakashi stands up.

Finally they can leave again. Gai is helping Asuma at the hospital as Kakashi wonders off. He finds himself standing in front of the small apartment building. Walking up those stairs it doesn't even seem familiar. He was so out of it that night. At the door he stands at it as if it would lead him into another dimension. It had felt like it had at the time. He turns the knob. Still unlocked. He pushes it open, but doesn't go inside. It's dark and empty. It's emptier than before now that he bed is gone and no towels are draped all over the bathroom. For some reason it makes him feel very lonely to see it this way. The air inside is ice cold unlike that night when it was a searing temperature that made their bodies perspire. He shuts the door and sticks his hands in his pockets.

Back in front of the building the boy from an earlier morning is carrying a bucket and rag. "Oh, hello," the boy flushes red with surprise.

"Hi," Kakashi says flatly.

"If you're looking for him he's already gone. It was a few days ago he just disappeared. He left the rest of the rent on the floor and we haven't heard anything since. Grandmother is happy about it, but I'm going to miss him being around. Nights were always so much more interesting." The boy sits next to the bucket and wrings out his rag.

Kakashi lets a small smile cross him.

i"What's your name?" Kakashi wonders.

"What does it matter?" He's groggy and stubborn.

"It matters to me." Kakashi lets more emotion through than he intended. He sounds hurt.

The boy opens his eyes a crack and blinks. "Sho." /i

So simple and little it's a kid's name. It's gentle and modest. Maybe it did fit the boy perfectly even if it is made up. Now he has a name forever in Kakashi's memory. "Sho," Kakashi hums.


End file.
